About

'There Is No Evil' tells four stories, that are variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty that ask to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime and its seemingly inescapable threats.  Every country that enforces the death penalty needs people to kill other people. Four men are put in front of an unthinkable but simple choice. The film is another example of superb Iranian film making.

Not surprisingly, considering the subject matter, be prepared for the odd shock.

It was philosopher Hannah Arendt who wrote about the 'banality of evil': those who commit the cruellest acts can be the most ordinary human beings. This is impressively shown in the first chapter of There Is No Evil, in which we follow a day in the life of a perfectly ordinary man, who drives off to work the next day and hesitates when the traffic light turns green. We, the, audience then understand why, as the very shocking last scene turns everything that came before upside down.

The other three episodes deal, in different ways, with the same issue: capital punishment.  The film is not interested in legal dilemmas surrounding the death penalty; it only shows the consequences it can have. The focus is not on the question of whether capital punishment can be justified, but on the moral difficulties of those who keep the system running, or who are forced to do that.

Non-member tickets are £5 (full-time students £3) and can be purchased in advance from The Exchange's Box Office online at http://exchangetwickenham.co.uk/events, by telephone 020 8240 2399 or in person.

For further information on RFS and the programme of films, please visit
http://www.richmondfilmsoc.org.uk